The generic valve drives for an internal combustion engine with a camshaft and with at least one cam follower and with at least one cam group non-rotatably fixed on the camshaft with a first cam and with a second cam axially adjacent to the first cam are already known. There, the cam follower is drive-connected in a first position with the first cam of the respective cam group and in a second position with the second cam of the respective cam group.
By way of an adjusting device, the cam follower can be switched between the first position and the second position and thus activate or deactivate a corresponding cylinder of the internal combustion engine. The adjusting device comprises a first adjustable engagement element and a second adjustable engagement element which in each case interact with a guide arranged on the camshaft. The first engagement element and the second engagement element are adjusted between a basic position and a switching position. Conventionally, the respective engagement elements are individually adjusted by linear actuators and the valve drive activated in this way, which however requires major control expenditure. Altogether, the total costs of the valve drive are also significantly increased by relatively expensive linear actuators.